SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Appalachian State junior quarterback Armanti Edwards picked up his second award in as many days as he was named the Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year by the Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCMSA). Georgia Southern senior linebacker Chris Covington was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year while Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore earned Wallace Wade Coach of the Year honors and Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro was voted Freshman of the Year.

Appalachian State, the 2008 Southern Conference champion and three-time defending national champion, landed 12 players on the all-conference teams, including nine first-team selections. Led by three players on the first-team defensive unit, Furman landed nine players on the team while Wofford and Elon each grabbed seven spots. Samford was rewarded with five all-SoCon selections followed by The Citadel and Georgia Southern, which each nabbed four citations. Western Carolina also had two players earn all-SoCon accolades.

Edwards was a unanimous choice for Offensive Player of the Year by the SCSMA members, as he was the key component in ASU’s fourth-straight SoCon title run. The junior signal caller passed for 2,146 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season while also rushing for a team-high 890 yards and nine scores. Edwards’ 178.5 passing efficiency rating is the second-highest in the nation, and he has thrown 171 consecutive passes without an interception.

Covington moved from defensive back to linebacker during the season and remained the Eagles’ leader on defense. Covington totaled 95 tackles, including 48 solo stops, in addition to 14.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks, ranking fourth or better in the SoCon in each category.

A true freshman, Taliaferro stared all 11 games for Samford this season, leading the Bulldogs to a 6-5 overall mark and 4-4 record in the SoCon in their inaugural season. Taliaferro threw for 1,745 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, and the freshman excelled in league play, completing 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions over the final seven games of the season.

Moore was honored after guiding ASU to its fourth-straight league championship and only the third undefeated SoCon season since 1998 a year after losing 12 starters to graduation from his third national championship team. The Mountaineers rebounded from a 1-2 start to win nine consecutive contests while pushing their SoCon win streak to 12 games.